Good Morning Sweetheart
by Aleigh Walker
Summary: After a wild night celebrating Yuna's wedding, Rikku wakes up, only to find she has no memory of the night before, or any memory of how she ended up in someone elses bed. What is a girl to do? RG ch 1 of 2 done


**Disclaimer: I of course, do not own FF X-2. And as such, I will not be making any money. This is simply for my own warped pleasure, and the bane of the poor plot bunnies. I realize that the plot isn't original, but I like it anyway.**

**Good Morning Sweetheart**

**Chapter One: Rikku's POV**

Rikku slowly floated out of a deep sleep. She drifted hazily in her warm cocoon basking in the luxury of a slow awakening. She felt safe, protected. A familiar smell teased her senses, the rich aroma of earth mingled with the sharp metallic zing of polished metal. She smiled dreamily. This was going to be a _good_ day. She yawned and arched her back into the solid warmth behind her. She smiled in contentment at the answering male sigh as the arm draped lazily over her waist tightened convulsively; pulling her back into the safety of his embrace.

_Embrace_? Rikku's eyes snapped open. _What_ embrace? She stiffened. There was someone behind her. She stared in fascinated horror at the muscled forearm draped proprietarily over her waist. _Holy lying Yevon_, what was going on? Rikku struggled to control her breathing as she franticly tried to piece together were she was and how she had gotten there.

The last clear memory she had, she was… Rikku frowned as she searched her muzzy memory for something helpful. The wedding! She had attended Yuna and Tidus's wedding, and then... The reception dinner. She remembered a drinking challenge and competition against… against… damn. She had _no_ idea.

She took a calming breath. There was probably a reasonable explanation for this Rikku rationalized as she tried to console herself. Simply because she was in bed with someone did not mean that anything had actually taken place. They where probably so drunk that they simply fell into bed fully clothed and slept off the alcohol. Yes, that was compl--

Her thought process froze as the man behind her buried his face into the crook of her neck, grazing her bare shoulder with his unshaven jaw. He inhaled and mumbled something against her skin. His voice prompted shivers to course down her whole body. Make that her whole _unclad_ body. She was completely naked beneath the sheets.

Oh, for the love of all that is merciful! Let him stay asleep, Rikku pleaded as she squeezed her eyes shut. Then at least she could be gone when he woke up, and nobody but her would ever know that this had ever happened. She would go her way, and he could go his. Who ever he was. Then she might at least retain _some_ control on this desasterific situation. If only she could sneak out, she would never even look at alcohol again. _Ever_.

As if mocking her silent plea, her bed partner yawned, stretched and released a satisfied chuckle. A gentle kiss landed on the side of her neck. He was waking up. This _was not_ happening. This was not _happening_.

"Good morning sweetheart." Rikku's heart froze at those rumbled words. She knew that voice.

"G-Gippal?" her heart and mouth stuttered in recognition.

Gippal. Her heart leapt and sank all at once. Oh, _mercy_. She was lying in bed naked with Gippal. She eased onto her back to stare up at the figure that was leaning on his elbow beside her. _Oh, mercy_. At a loss for words, she stared up into his face.

He really was such a handsome man; his strong jaw, now scratchy with stubble, betrayed his inner stubbornness. Even his right eye wasn't as bad as he believed. He wasn't wearing his customary eye patch, she noted. She examined the damaged eye for the first time in years. Unlike his left eye, the right one was milky white covered in scar tissue; the scared skin around his right eye was pale from lack of sun.

She could almost smell the smoke, and hear the electricity crackle from that old machina. If not for him, it would have been her caught in the electrical blast. However, as usual her childhood friend had saved her and knocked her out of the way just in time. Unfortunaly, he had caught an electric shock directly in the eye.

Without thinking, she raised her hand up to brush along the scared tissue. Such pain he had endured. She gently smoothed her thumb over the raised tissue. She looked into his good eye and abruptly she jerked her hand back. _What in Spira_, did she think she was _doing_? Fawning over him like a lonesome puppy from his childhood. She watched as his customary grin slowly slid off his face and knit his brow in confusion.

"Rikku?" She could hear the question in his voice. Was she ok, what did she think she was doing, why was she in his bed, why was she naked in his bed and a whole other assortment of questions. Unfortunately, she didn't know _any_ of the answers.

She gazed at his bare chest, _what_ where they _both_ doing naked in his…

"Oh, Spira have mercy!" Rikku cried as she shot into a sitting position, narrowly missing cracking her skull upon Gippal's in the process.

She _had_ to get out of this bed. _Now_. Franticly she gathered up the sheet around her and was about to bolt from the bed when a sharp tug on the other end of the sheet stopped her mid-flight. She swung her gaze around to look at Gippal who had a firm hold upon the other end of her modesty. She scowled at him.

"Let go Gippal." She demanded angrily tugging on the sheet. _No way_ was she going to stay in this bed with him. Not after… after… her cheeks blushed bright red.

"Now, princess, do you _really_ want me to?" he questioned mockingly as he glanced pointedly down at himself.

Her snappy retorts died upon her lips as the meaning of his words penetrated her frantic state of mind. Two people. No clothes in sight. _One sheet_. Oh, she would love for something to come and swallow her whole. Sin, a roaming fiend, Vegnagun, a rouge cleaning lady… _Please,_ she would do _anything_ if she could just disappear.

She met his gaze and knew in an instant that his grip on the sheet was more for her modesty than for his. As it was the sheet lay perilously close to his hips. Unbidden her gaze roamed over his broad muscled chest and waist. Something on his shoulder caught her attention. Naturally curious, she focused on it. A small crescent bruise decorated his skin. There, she noticed was another on his stomach, and yet another on his left bicep. What in the world could have caused…

Holy machina! Were those _bite_ marks? Oh, Yevon _no_. _Oh, no_. Yes, yes they were. Rikku felt her blush spread down her neck. She, she had… kissed, caressed… on him… her mouth… oh no. And the _jerk_ was _grinning_. He was enjoying her discomfiture. She _was_ going to _kill_ him.

Right after she found her clothes. Speaking of coverings…

Rikku gave an experimental tug on the sheet. She could always jerk it out of his grasp and close her eyes. That would be the last thing he would expect from her. It _could_ work she reasoned. Then she could always escape through the bathroom door she saw on the left. Rikku shifted until she had her legs under her in preparation for the fight and flight operation. She inhaled and pulled with all of her strength.

What happened next was, well… simply _beyond_ embarrassing. Instead of tugging back on the sheet as she expected, Gippal simply let go. When tugging on a sheet with no resistance while perilously close to the edge of the bed, well… This was _not_ going as planed; Rikku had time to think before she fell backwards off the bed with a startled squeak.

She lay stunned on the floor tangled in the accursed sheet for a moment. She fought the burning on her face as she assessed her situation.

**Broken bones?** _No_.

**Grace and agility?** _No sign, missing in action._

**Sheet?** _Doing it's job. Covering._

**Gippal?** _On the bed. Laughing his fool head off._

**Pride?** _Wounded beyond all recognition. Will morn its death later._

**Plan?** _Run like hell. Deny everything.._

Before the plan could be put into action Rikku felt a small tug on the sheet from one of the corners still left on the bed. Then to her horror, she felt a rush of air as the sheet was jerked off her. For a moment, Rikku found herself frozen in shock.

During one horrifying moment, she seriously contemplated the horror of having to stand before him completely naked. Then to her relief, she spied the cream comforter lying on the floor within arms reach. It had probably fallen off some time in the night.

Not that she was _trying_ to remember what happened last night. Dealing with the present was more than she could stand she grumbled to herself as she literally dove under the convenient comforter. Gippal was going to _die_. With some difficulty, Rikku managed to properly wrap herself up in the blanket in preparation for the coming confrontation.

Carefully she managed to lever herself up using the edge of the bed while keeping a tight grip on her blanket. One she was steady on her feet she turned to confront the still laughing male lying upon the bed.

"You… You big, arrogant, cruel, underhanded, sneaky…. _Male_." Rikku spat out furiously.

Gippal was leaning back against a pile of pillows with his arms folded behind his head for support. The snagged sheet lay innocently around his waist. He hardly looked intimidated. In fact, he looked greatly amused by her anger.

"Sorry Princess, the vents came on. I was getting cold." He grinned at her. "Besides, it looks like you found something warmer." He gestured at the comforter.

"This is _not_ funny Gippal." Rikku cried.

Rikku threw up her hands in exasperation before she remembered what they were _supposed_ to be doing. Mainly keeping what was left of her modesty intact. She yelped and grabbed for the slipping blanket before she showed him anything else. She scowled at his grinning face as she was reminded that he had _already_ seen _everything_ some time during last night.

"No?" he arched one eyebrow. "Well it sure is an entertaining sight from this angle, to say the very least." He drawled.

"Entertaining?" Rikku hissed. "Sure, if you think that waking up from a deep sleep only to find that you have _no idea_ where you are or who you are sleeping next to." She had the small satisfaction of watching his grin fade. "Then falling off the bed, you stealing the sheet, and _still_ not being able to remember what happened last night." Rikku ignored the tremor in her voice. She would _not_ cry. Not now. Not in front of him.

Shakily she turned her back to him as she tried to gain control her emotions. She had _never_ been so _mortified_ in her entire life. Not only did she wake up completely undressed, and with absolutely no memory of the night before, not to mention the series of disasters involving the sheet; it had to be with Gippal of all people.

Would it have been too much to ask for a nice stranger? Preferably, one she would never see again. Why did it have to involve the single person about whom she had fantasized about since she was fifteen? Why did it have to be the charming, smart, handsome, 'one week, one girl' Gippal?

The rustling of the sheet behind her prompted her to turn around. Gippal had gotten out of the bed and was now standing beside her with the sheet wrapped firmly in place. She stared fixedly off to the side refusing to meet his gaze.

"Hey, Baby?" He whispered in concern. "Do you really not remember last night at all?" he asked as he used both hands to gently tug her chin up to force her to look him in the eye.

Mutely she shook her head in a negative gesture. He sighed and closed his eyes. Rikku watched as he removed one hand to run distractedly through his hair. The other one remained cupping the left side of her face and gently brushing along her cheekbone. She awkwardly shut her eyes to block out the embarrassment of the entire situation.

Above her Gippal released a long sigh and gathered her into his arms. She resisted for a moment until she realized that he was not about to release her until he was ready to. Reluctantly, she surrendered herself into his safekeeping. For a long minute, she stood there with the steady beat of his heart thundering in her ear, listening to its steady comforting rhythm. Slowly the stress and a large portion of the hysterical embarrassment faded. This _was_, after all, Gippal. He was always looking out for her, appearing whenever she desperately needed him.

"Better?" he tightened his arms into a gentle hug as she nodded against his heart. "Good. Now why don't we both get dressed and discuss this like reasonable adults eh?" he suggested as he brushed his jaw along the top of her head.

"I don't want to be reasonable, or an adult." Rikku grumbled into his shoulder making sure to keep her face hidden. "Being an adult is what got me into this horrible fix in the first place." She whined as she listened to the pleasant rumble of Gippal's laughter.

"Now, you know that is not necessarily true. I seem to recall that this is _not_ the first time I have woken up with you in my bed." Gippal teased.

"I was _five_, and you _know_ it." Rikku growled. She seriously considered biting him before she remembered that she already had.

"Yeah, yeah. Now move." He gave her a gentle push towards the bathroom door. "I'll hand you some cloths in a minute."

Not needing any more prompting, Rikku gathered up her blanket and hurried towards the beckoning refuge. Once inside she heaved a sigh of relief. The empty bathroom was blessedly empty of any potential embarrassments. She sighed as she leaned on the sink counter and waited for the promised clothes to appear. After waiting for a few moments, the shower caught her eye.

She debated for a few moments. Jump in the shower, become clean and semi-human, enjoy clean hair, and delay the confrontation? On the other hand, play it safe, take her shower after the escape, deal with oily hair and get the whole twenty questions done and over with. No contest.

"Gippal?" she called as she cracked the bathroom door open a bit.

She heard a loud thump muffled cursing and then finally…

"Yeah?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Can I use your shower?" she asked tentatively. She waited for a long moment before she finally heard his answer.

"Sure. Why not." He grumbled.

Happily, Rikku turned back the shower and turned it on. After divesting herself of the bulky comforter, she eagerly stepped into the hot water and let the falling water beat down upon her stiff muscles. Ahhh… now that felt good she acknowledged as she relaxed tensed muscles under the pulsing showerhead.

She rested her forehead against the wall and forced her mind to the problems at hand. She had slept with Gippal. That was an undisputable fact. Even if she wanted to deny it, she couldn't. And, considering the way her muscles were aching in protest, they had been up for most of the night.

Oh, Spira. Why did it have to be Gippal? This whole morning was almost straight out of her dearest dreams. Banning the part where she had no memory of the night before and the noticeable lack of declarations of undying love of course.

She scrubbed her hair clean as she sorted through the various ways she could handle the aftermath of her wild night.

_One_, she could murder him with that innocent looking bar of soap she spied sitting in the corner of the tub. Er… probably not. It would be difficult explainingg how someone above the age of three managed to choke to death on a bar of soap.

_Two_, she could step out of the bathroom completely naked and pounce him, no time for embarrassing questions. Hummm… appealing but no, not that either. Not only was it room for more potential embarrassment, but with her luck she would trip on that evil sheet and ruin the whole effect. Besides, it's not as if it would solve anything, only delay it for a while.

_Three_, she could suddenly develop a case of severe amnesia; it wasn't as if she remembered last night anyway. Well… probably not. Gippal wasn't exactly stupid and besides, he always knew when she lied. It was one of his more annoying traits.

_Four_, she could always walk in there and tell him the truth. That she has secretly been in love with him for the past four years, ever since her fifteenth birthday. Yup… that would go over well. While she was at it, she could demand that he marry her as well. She snorted in self-disgust.

"Not going to happen. You are simply too pathetic for even considering it." She grumbled aloud to herself.

"What's wrong? Is the soap planning a bubble revolt?" Gippal's voice sounded from just outside of the shower curtain causing Rikku let out a startled scream and jump in surprise.

Never jump about while standing in the shower. Never pull on the end of the shower curtain as you fall. It ends badly. Very badly thought Rikku as she franticly tried to arrange the ripped shower curtain to cover herself as Gippal looked down at her on the floor of the tub in concern.

She opened her mouth to yell at him, but was stopped as it proceeded to catch water that still flowed from the showerhead. Gippal thoughtfully turned off the tap for her. She noted dimly, that he was still wearing the sheet from the bed.

This was one of those days. The ones where you should simply stay in be… _never mind_.

"Are you ok?" Gippal asked as he handed her a towel to wipe the soap and water off her face.

"What are you doing in here?" she growled as she took the offered towel and glared suspiciously at him.

"Bringing you those like I promised." He gestured with his off hand to the neatly folded clothing on the sink counter.

"You could have knocked." She grumbled.

"I did," he protested as he made himself comfortable on the edge of the tub.

Gippal" she gritted out warningly.

"What?" he was grinning. She was going to kill him.

"You can leave now." She said pointedly jerking her head towards the door.

"What, no thanks for all the hard work?" he teased her before standing up.

"Gippal, out." She demanded and watched as he finally complied with a mock salute.

When the door shut on his retreating back Rikku let out a sigh of relief. She gave the curtain she still held protectively over herself a disgusted look, and threw it aside. Just what she needed, she thought sarcastically, more embarrassment. She clambered out of the tub and reached for the cloths Gippal had left. However, before putting them on she turned and locked the door.

"That ought to show you, you big meanie." She called through to the other side.

Quickly, she toweled dry, trying not to notice that she had her own share of bruises from the wild night they had shared. She wasn't even going to think about the marks she had left on _him_.

Attempting to distract herself, she quickly donned the offered clothes. They were defiantly not in her size. The sleeves completely hid her hands and she had to roll the bottom of the pants at least three times before she even saw her feet. His clothes. She shook her head well at least she was properly covered this time she grumbled as she pulled the drawstring in the pants tight.

Maybe now that she was dressed, she could manage to not embarrass herself again. She spotted a comb by the sink and proceeded to try to run it through her thick wet hair. She had just finished combing the tangled mess when Gippal started to bang on the door impatiently.

"Come on out. You can't stay locked up in there forever." He demanded as he rattled the door and her eardrums.

"If only I could." She muttered under her breath. "All right, all right!" she called as she unlocked the door to confront him.

She poked her head out first, as if testing for dangerous fiends. Gippal had retreated from the door and was leaning against the dresser. He waved her in when he saw her hovering in the doorway. She was thankful when she noticed that he had changed into his usual pants, even if he had neglected to throw on his shirt as well. At least it was not the stupid sheet.

She made her way further into the room and looked around for a place to sit. Her eyes skipped over the obvious bed and she finally opted to lean on the wall next to the bathroom door. She heard Gippal heave a longsuffering sigh as she studiously avoided any eye contact with him.

"Come on, avoidance won't fix anything and you know it. Where is the girl who helped save the world _twice_?" She watched his bare feet come into view as she stared at the floor.

"Thisisjustwaytoembarrassing." Rikku rushed the words to get them all out. Gippal stared at her, encouraging her to continue. "It's just that this," she waved at the room. "I don't know how to deal with it." She mumbled embarrassed.

She was terrified that he would guess how she really felt. She knew he wouldn't mock her or anything, but he could pity her. That would have been the worst possible fate to even consider.

"Well, how do you _want_ to deal with it?" His honest question caught her by surprise.

She lifted her eyes up to look in his face. He honestly wanted to know. For once, he wasn't mocking her. She guessed that this was probably hard on him to. After all, she probably wasen't first on his list of people to wake up next to.

"I don't know." She shrugged helplessly. "I never thought that this kind of thing would happen. I am never drinking alcohol ever again." She promised.

"Well, you have to admit, it's certainly not boring." He teased her by bringing up a complaint she vaguely remembered saying at the reception diner last night.

"Gippal." She warned as she braced her hands upon her hips. "You are not helping. You know that, don't you?"

Couldn't he be serious? Well, no, he probably couldn't. He was forever joking about something. Usually she loved his sence of humor. Just, not when her heart was at stake.

"Right, solutions." He taped his chin in mock thoughtfulness. "Well, we could always just jump back into bed and worry about all problems later." He was smirking at her again Rikku noticed irritably.

For a brief second she contemplated doing just that. She wondered what his response would be. What if he pushed her away? What if he didn't? she shook her head in frustration. This was getting her nowhere.

"Go away," she shoved at his chest, irritated by her willingness to even consider his proposal. "We need to figure out what to do." She started to pace across the room.

"Well, things could be worse." He consoled her. "Cid and Brother could be knocking down the door." His teasing comments made her stop pacing and turn pale.

"Oh," Rikku gasped, her eyes going wide. "I hadn't even thought of that." She panicked.

She had always believed that sex should come with marriage. Preferably with her as the bride, not the bridesmaid. What would they think if they found her here? Would they be ashamed? Would they beat Gippal within an inch of his life? Would she try to stop them? Would she help?

"Whoa, easy there Princess." He exclaimed watching the panic start to spread on her face. "I'm sure you're safe for the moment. Just slow down. This whole situation has been known to happen. I'm sure that we aren't the first ones to be caught in this mess." He soothed.

"That is the problem." She complained as she ran her fingers through her wet hair. "I don't _do_ things like this. Not only would Pops and Brother kill me, I won't do it to _myself_. I don't fall into bed with just anyone." She looked imploringly at him. Begging him to understand.

"Aww, Sugar. Don't worry about it. I didn't think that you would." He reached out to stroke her cheek.

Sugar, Sweetheart, Princess. She felt her eyes narrow. He was always calling her some pet name or another. As if, he didn't have the time to remember her real one. Everyone else on the whole of Spira knew her name. But one cocky Al Bhed refused to even acknowledge that she was special in any way.

"R-I-K-K-U." She pronounced forcefully.

"What?" Gippal demanded as he stared at her in confusion, momentarily sidetracked obviously unprepared for the sudden change in conversation and tone.

"My name is Rikku." She glared at him as if daring him to dispute it.

"I know what you name is baby." He stated, obviously puzzled by the way the conversation was now headed.

"No. Not Baby, not Sweetheart, not Princess, not, Sugar, not even Cid's Girl. My name is Rikku." She barely kept herself from yelling that last bit. As it was, her hands were clenched into unconscious fists.

"I don't understand. What does that—" The rest of his words were drowned out.

"Have to do with it?" Rikku finished for him, eyes snapping with fury. "For every other girl you have gone out with; you have called them each by their name." she fumed.

"But even after all of this," she gestured wildly at the unmade bed, his marked chest, and the whole room in general. "You _sill_ refuse to call _me_ by my name." she finished.

Rikku's heart sank as she watched his stunned expression. He hadn't noticed, she concluded. And she had only succeeded in making a complete fool of herself. It was way past time to go. She spotted her boots lying on the floor next to the door, grabbed them up, and proceeded to jerk them on.

"What do you think you are doing?" She flinched as his sharp words broke the silence.

"Leaving." She replied simply, as she finished tying her boots.

"Leav—' He broke off and sighed as he ran his hands through his hair. "Look if you would just let me explain…" his words faded off as she briskly shook her head.

"No. Just… just forget this ever happened. I will." She gathered up her courage and looked at him. "Just one drunken night. Nothing special right?" She paused for a response that never came. She looked at him sadly.

"What do you want this to be?" his rough voice startled her. "Do you want this to be the beginning of a relationship, a one night stand? Tell me what you want." His eyes took in her every movement.

Rikku ran a shaky hand through her hair. What did she want? She wanted him, heart, soul, everything. But she knew that he was unprepared for that. For any woman. He loved his freedom. He always had. She turned her thought to her answer.

"I just want this day over with." she sighed as she looked at him.

He was leaning against the dresser watching her intently. Her heart twisted painfully inside her chest. Everything she had ever dreamed of resided with that one confused, irritated, arrogant, and wonderful male. Her whole body yearned to throw itself into the cradle of his arms and beg him to make the world right again. Just as she had done when she was little.

But she wasn't little anymore she reminded herself. She squared her shoulders. He didn't want her. Oh, he liked her body well enough she was sure, but he didn't want _her_. Not like she wanted him. She offered him a half of a smile that he didn't return. She grabbed the doorknob and opened it halfway.

"See you around Gippal." She quipped and then turned to open the door.

"Stop right there." He demanded. She paused halfway through the door and turned back to look at him, heart in her throat.

"Yes?" If he said one thing to indicate that he wanted her to stay, she would.

"What if this night has consequences?" he growled unhappily.

_Sinspawn of Yevon_. She felt the blood drain from her face. That had not occurred to her. Shiva protect her. She felt his stare and tried to regain some of her lost control.

"Then I will deal with it when I have to." She replied, hoping she sounded more confidant she really was.

"You _will_ tell me though." He demanded.

Rikku looked into his eye and realized this, was one thing that he was going to budge on at all. If she were pregnant, she would let him know. End of story. She gave a shaky nod of agreement. _Time to go_.

"Bye." She gave him a small wave and slipped through the door and shut it behind her.

She stood in the hallway for a moment listening to him mutter darkly under his breath. She allowed herself a weak smile as she slipped away from the door and headed for the end of the hall to the elevator.

She wanted to cry. She wanted to curse. Hell, she even wanted to go back and apologize for walking out on him. Angrily she dashed away a few stray tears. She was mad, scared,hurt, sad, and… and in love with the dense thing. Rikku wanted to pull her hair out due to all of the conflicting emotions. It hurt to feel so much at once.

Run now, think later she counseled herself. Yuna was on her honeymoon, but Paine was still around. She would put her up for the night while she figured out how to deal with aftereffects of this mess. She would probably have some good advice as well; something she could certainly use right now.

Rikku pushed the down button and waited for the elevator. If all else failed, she could always avoid Gippal for the rest of her life. No, she hadn't run from Sin, or Vegnagun. She would not run from Gippal. But, she could avoid him for a while, at least until the worst of the humiliation wore off.

Before her, the doors slid open and she stepped through. She punched the button for the bottom floor and turned around to stare back down the hallway. There motionless stood the last person she expected to see. Gippal.

Startled, she gazed at him as he watched her from the end of the hallway. What was he doing here? Rikku knew that her whole face showed her surprise. Numbly she stared back at him as the doors started to slide shut. Before the doors slid shut, she heard him start to laugh darkly. She gazed back at his confidant stance in confusion.

The soft thump of the door closing and the dropping sensation of the elevator jerked Rikku out of her immobile stance. Confused she started to pace. She knew that laugh. She had heard it before every battle he had ever fought in her presence. Brother called it his 'victory before the battle' laugh.

He was going to fight. But for what, or for whom? She ruthlessly tried to squash down a spark of hope. No, it couldn't be her. He wouldn't, would he?

"Well, why not?" she grumbled aloud.

He had shown her many kindnesses this morning. Sure, he had laughed at her, and picked on her. But the moment she showed true distress, he had backed off and comforted her. And, she remembered, he had looked truly distressed when he found out that she had no memory of the night they shared. In fact, he looked slightly hurt and disappointed; as if she wasn't like the others.

Rikku stopped pacing and tried to look at his previous girlfriends objectively. Sure, their were a score of them. But, she acknowledged honestly, none of them had been hurt when the inevitable breakup arrived. In fact, she knew for certain, that none of the girls had been serious with him at all.

Agitated, she resumed her pacing. That paired with the fact that Gippal never chased after a girl once she left, made her wonder. Was there a small chance that she was special, different? Did she dare take it? Did she dare not?

Was a future with Gippal worth the risk of going back to find out? She moodily watched the lift display reach one. Yes, she decided. It was.

Her mind made up, she watched the doors start opening to reveal the same man she had been thinking about. Gippal.

Before the doors had even completely opened, he had stepped onto the elevator. He was still grinning she noticed uneasily.

"Good morning Rikku. Good morning Sweetheart." He was smiling down at her with a challenging expression.

She could only blink at him in confusion. What did this mean? Her heart gave a leap. He had run down the stairs to meet her. Surly he had to care at least a little.

She allowed him to maneuver her into the corner as he punched a button on the control pad and then turned back to her. Her mind stuttered to a halt as he leaned down to brush a gentle kiss across her lips.

"Gippal, what—" The rest of her words were lost as his mouth descended once again.

She released an involuntary whimper and he groaned in response. He was here; he had come after her. This was not the response of someone who didn't care. She didn't know what exactly it meant, but she could always ask him.

Later she decided as she ran her hands up his back, over the red scratches she had made last night, to bury her hands into his hair. Much later.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Well, I'm all done here. Sorry if the story is a bit sloppy, I think I rushed the end a bit, but I'm in a hurry to finish it up. This is the First chapter of a two-chapter story. The second chapter will be done from Gippal's point of view. There you will figure out just what does he think he is doing. (ohhhh... i can't wait... er right, i'm wrighting. Damn.) It's almost finished, and waiting to be posted, it will probably be up by Monday. Thank you for reading, and please do review and tell me what you think.

Aleigh


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